BEREA — The offensive linemen went one-on-one, working on their technique with no shortage of contact. The cornerbacks tried to keep up with the wideouts in a passing drill. The special teams units covered kicks.

Everyone was in full pads.

A day after Jamal Lewis’ career and Brodney Pool’s season ended due to problems from concussions, the Browns carried on Thursday as if nothing had happened.

Such is life in the NFL. The games don’t stop, and those who slow down get left behind.

“One person doesn’t stop a whole show,” said running back Jerome Harrison, who will receive some of Lewis’ carries. “He will be missed. We just have to keep working hard.”

Lewis was planning to retire following his 10th season, but his career was cut five games short when he developed post-concussion symptoms following a loss at Cincinnati on Sunday. Coach Eric Mangini said Lewis told the team about the symptoms Monday, which began a series of tests and trips to specialists. He reportedly was scheduled for more tests Thursday after an MRI of his brain showed abnormalities.

Lewis didn’t leave the game Sunday, and no injury was announced. The team didn’t reveal any problem until Wednesday when it put him on injured reserve.

“We wanted to go through the whole process and talk to everybody and make sure that we were as thorough as possible before making the final decision,” said Mangini, who wouldn’t reveal Lewis’ symptoms.

Lewis’ problems could’ve been caused by a single hit Sunday or the cumulative effect of 131 regular-season games, about a thousand practices and 2,542 carries.

“He’s a big back, so he probably ran into a million people,” Harrison said. “I don’t think he knows for sure what caused it.”

Lewis’ teammates acknowledged the unfortunate circumstances, but did so in a matter-of-fact way. They were due at practice in a half-hour.

“I kind of feel bad for him based on everything that he’s gone through and the career he’s had,” said quarterback Derek Anderson, one of Lewis’ closest friends on the team.

“You want to see him finish the right way, and at least finish the season healthy.”

Lewis’ power, combined with rare speed for a man 245 pounds, took him to 21st on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 10,607 yards. He ran for 2,066 yards in 2003 — the second-best season in NFL history — and will be a candidate for the Hall of Fame in five years.

“He’s won a Super Bowl, played on some great teams,” Anderson said in support of Lewis’ spot in Canton. “He’s done a lot not a lot of guys have done.”

“I don’t get a vote in that, but he’s had a tremendous career,” said Mangini, who said he hadn’t thought about honoring Lewis during the game Sunday. “You hope, you hope. He’s had an impressive career.”

Harrison and rookie Chris Jennings will receive the carries that had been going to Lewis.

“It is a great opportunity for younger players or guys that maybe weren’t in that lead role to make a case for themselves and step up and be productive,” Mangini said.

Harrison and Jennings are also the guys in the locker room who’ve been influenced the most by Lewis.

“You talk about somebody to take you under his wing,” Jennings said, adding Lewis was in good spirits Wednesday. “It’s sad that it had to go that way, but life is important, too.”

Pool is wrestling with similar issues despite being just 25 years old. He suffered at least the fourth concussion of his five-year career Sunday, is done for the year and may elect to retire.

“Every time I see Brodney get hit I get a little nervous,” Anderson said. “He and I both had concussions in New York (in the 2008 preseason) and that was kind of like the blind leading the blind in the locker room. It wasn’t funny.”

Pool hasn’t addressed the media.

“He didn’t seem down about it,” cornerback Brandon McDonald said. “Brodney’s a happy guy, he’s always going to have a smile on his face regardless of the situation. It’s just the type of guy he is.”

The increased focus on concussions across the NFL has been noticed by Browns players. But how it affects their decision-making remains to be seen. Anderson said extended time on the sideline could be the end of a career, so players are reluctant to admit a concussion.

“If they didn’t cut guys for fun,” he said. “It’s such a cutthroat business, if you’re not out there for a few weeks your job’s gone.”

Receiver/special teamer Joshua Cribbs is known for playing with reckless abandon. He said he’s never told the trainers he’s had a concussion, despite suffering “many.” He said he had to be led to the sideline by teammates as a rookie and was “woozy” after a hit against the Rams in 2007, yet kept playing.

“You come back, you get your bearings, go back to war,” he said.

Cribbs said he knows about the long-term repercussions of multiple concussions, but that won’t change his approach.
“That’s just the nature of the job,” he said. “Playing football, injuries are not a distant factor, it’s not a distant possibility.
“It’s a big problem in our sport. There’s going to be injuries and this is what we signed up for.”

He was in the middle of the action Thursday at practice. Football goes on.

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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